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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I don't even remember what I saw that had made me decide to buy this ebook and its sequel, but I am disappointed. The main characters are so unlikeable and never get any better to make the romance aspect at all enticing. Hallie and Kase do nothing but argue like bratty children all the time. Their arguments don't even make sense most of the time. They just argue for the sake of arguing. Kase also just plain has an anger issue, which isn't cute or endearing in any way. If I was around someone who would just fly off the handle at every little thing, I would do everything I could to avoid them. Besides those two, the rest of the characters were so unremarkable and forgettable. I will likely remember nothing about them after I finish writing this review. They really did not do much to drive the story forward, and when two of them die, it is so unemotional, and one of them is supposed to be a brother to our main male character. Probably why the only times characters interact is when yet another catatrosphe occurs (the ship crashed AGAIN, there was a beast attack, some weird magic statues attacked, etc.) However, this way of driving the plot forward was so repetitive and annoying that by the final time the ship crashed I found myself not caring. I was skimming and daydreaming while I was trying to get to the end of this book.. And this is at the point where some answers should be forthcoming. Except.. there aren't any answers. Everything has to remain mysterious and obnoxious and confuse the reader. There were attempts at world-building and history here. Earth died, and humans had to move to another planet. Cool, great. There was some war that supposedly, but not really, erased the native species of the planet. The native species of the planet has some magic, but what is it? Who knows. There's some special metal on the planet that seems to mean a lot, but is it every really explained in a way to make sense for this story? Does it make sense for this story? As many times as it's mentioned, you'd think it's huge. I still have no idea what the point of it is. I will read book 2, since I mentioned I bought the dang thing. I hope some more world-building questions are answered in the second book because all these holes just left me really disappointed.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"'There's no one else I'd rather be here with at the end than you.'"
To be honest, the cover was what originally landed Cities of Smoke and Starlight on my TBR, but I'm so glad I read it because the steampunk adventure far exceeded my expectations. It reminded me a bit of Tara Sim's Timekeeper mixed with bits of a whole bunch of other sci-fi books - and I've heard that it has similarities to Star Wars.
The book takes place around the year 4500, and it's implied that the characters live on another planet. A scholar and pilot embark on a mission with a handful of others to seek help from a mysterious race in the hopes of preventing war. There's plenty of action to keep readers intrigued throughout, and even though I admittedly found the pacing a bit slow at times, the ending was amazing and I can't wait to see where the story goes next. The main plot twist was foreshadowed enough that I was able to call it but there was still enough shock factor in the reveal to make it impactful, and while I didn't cry, I wanted to.
However, the real strength is in the characters. I didn't really like Zeke or Ben all that much, but I absolutely adored Ebba (she reminded me of Cassie from Timekeeper). And then there's Hallie and Kase... Hallie reminded me a bit of Fi from The Bone Spindle, but her interest in translating ancient texts intrigued me and I liked her character. I can't pinpoint exactly who Kase reminded me of, but his snark and temper meant liked him a lot as well. And the tension between them? Immaculate. They reminded me a bit of Iris and Roman from Divine Rivals and just strengthened my claim that rivals to lovers is infinitely better than a true enemies to lovers. The slow-burn was 100% worth it.
If you're looking for a unique genre-blending read or a steampunk adventure with a found family of sorts, be sure to check out Cities of Smoke and Starlight.
4.5/5
To be honest, the cover was what originally landed Cities of Smoke and Starlight on my TBR, but I'm so glad I read it because the steampunk adventure far exceeded my expectations. It reminded me a bit of Tara Sim's Timekeeper mixed with bits of a whole bunch of other sci-fi books - and I've heard that it has similarities to Star Wars.
The book takes place around the year 4500, and it's implied that the characters live on another planet. A scholar and pilot embark on a mission with a handful of others to seek help from a mysterious race in the hopes of preventing war. There's plenty of action to keep readers intrigued throughout, and even though I admittedly found the pacing a bit slow at times, the ending was amazing and I can't wait to see where the story goes next. The main plot twist was foreshadowed enough that I was able to call it but there was still enough shock factor in the reveal to make it impactful, and while I didn't cry, I wanted to.
However, the real strength is in the characters. I didn't really like Zeke or Ben all that much, but I absolutely adored Ebba (she reminded me of Cassie from Timekeeper). And then there's Hallie and Kase... Hallie reminded me a bit of Fi from The Bone Spindle, but her interest in translating ancient texts intrigued me and I liked her character. I can't pinpoint exactly who Kase reminded me of, but his snark and temper meant liked him a lot as well. And the tension between them? Immaculate. They reminded me a bit of Iris and Roman from Divine Rivals and just strengthened my claim that rivals to lovers is infinitely better than a true enemies to lovers. The slow-burn was 100% worth it.
If you're looking for a unique genre-blending read or a steampunk adventure with a found family of sorts, be sure to check out Cities of Smoke and Starlight.
4.5/5
adventurous
slow-paced
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My feelings about this book are complicated.
The plot and world building were well done. Actually the intrigue of what would happen on this mission was the only thing that kept me reading through the whole book.
My biggest problem with the book was actually a small problem. I think the author desperately wanted this to be an enemies to lovers, so she made the two leads dislike each other/argue constantly for no good reason. That put me off, and made me really dislike Hallie. She exploded at Kase for no reason and held a grudge for so long, I just disliked her. I didn't mind Kase but as time went on, I disliked him too. I wanted to know what would happen but I did not want to read about Hallie and Kase and I did not want them to end up together.
I don't think their arcs or characters were poorly written, but I think because I felt the author was trying to force an enemies to lovers in a plot that wasn't built for it, I got pushed out of the story and saw issues that I probably wouldn't have if she'd just let them form a normal relationship with each other. I don't think 90% of it was bad writing, just that I'd been put off at the start.
The plot and world building were well done. Actually the intrigue of what would happen on this mission was the only thing that kept me reading through the whole book.
My biggest problem with the book was actually a small problem. I think the author desperately wanted this to be an enemies to lovers, so she made the two leads dislike each other/argue constantly for no good reason. That put me off, and made me really dislike Hallie. She exploded at Kase for no reason and held a grudge for so long, I just disliked her. I didn't mind Kase but as time went on, I disliked him too. I wanted to know what would happen but I did not want to read about Hallie and Kase and I did not want them to end up together.
I don't think their arcs or characters were poorly written, but I think because I felt the author was trying to force an enemies to lovers in a plot that wasn't built for it, I got pushed out of the story and saw issues that I probably wouldn't have if she'd just let them form a normal relationship with each other. I don't think 90% of it was bad writing, just that I'd been put off at the start.